Just a Little Visit
by Ghost Wulf
Summary: It's Halloween, and Yugi has a question for Anzu—one that he's willing to travel halfway around the world to ask. But it's not a big deal, just a little visit. (PeachShipping, Halloween fic, fluff and a haunted house and what else could you ask for?)


Yugi didn't want to make a big deal out of his trip to see Anzu. It was just a little visit.

He didn't tell any of his friends he was going—just Grandpa. Even he wasn't sure he was going, and he nearly bought his plane ticket too late. When he arrived at the airport, he brought only a backpack with him.

"You're sure traveling light to America," the attendant checking him in said.

"It's just a little visit," Yugi said.

He showed his passport when needed and passed through customs and security checkpoints, and before he knew it, he was stepping into the heavy New York City air and wondering how he'd blinked and missed the seventeen hours of flight time. The city was no different from his last visit, perhaps a little quieter, if NYC could ever be called quiet. Even Anzu didn't know he was coming, but he was well aware of her performance schedule, so he waited outside the Broadway stage entrance, standing next to a decorative sidewalk plant that was still green despite the season.

In the morning, the city appeared gray and uninteresting. Yugi knew that would change as soon as the sun set and the city lights came on. New York breathed at night; it was what Anzu loved most about it. He couldn't count the number of times he'd been on the phone with her as she exited a performance, and she would describe the streaks of violet and yellow neon against the starless sky, and he would look out his window at the game shop to see a dull blue barely reaching mid-day. It made her feel a world away, and his heart pinched at the distance.

"Yugi!" Anzu cried as she approached.

He startled out of his thoughts just in time to be lifted off his feet in a hug. He had to laugh at that; even after growing a few inches throughout high school and college, he was barely taller than her, and she was definitely stronger than him. That's what he got for lifting nothing more than game boxes at his grandpa's shop while Anzu performed rigorous choreography night and day and matinee.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. Her eyes were so blue, like an ocean oasis in the concrete city.

"I just came for a little visit," Yugi said, smiling. Everything drained upon seeing her; everything calmed.

"You didn't tell me!"

"Surprise?"

She laughed, and the sound was as bright as her eyes. "Tell me you at least got tickets to the show."

He shook his head sheepishly, and she smacked him gently on the shoulder.

"It's Halloween, you crazy," she said. "You'll never get a ticket at the door on any holiday."

"Is it?" he said.

She rolled her eyes, but her smile never wavered. "I'll see what I can do. I'm only performing in the matinee today, so at least my evening is free. This is so nuts. What made you come?"

"No big reason," he said.

"Well, lucky for you, we're hitting a haunted house tonight, and I _know_ I can get you into that."

"Sounds like fun."

In the end, he wasn't able to get a seat for the show, but he was allowed to wait backstage in the dancer's area. It was a claustrophobic space packed tight with costumes and mirrors and lights.

"How do I look?" Anzu asked before the show was about to start.

Yugi smiled. "Breathtaking."

She rolled her eyes and gestured at her mud-splattered costume and grungy makeup. "Yugi, I'm not supposed to be pretty. I'm supposed to be living on the streets."

He shook his head. "Guess you just can't help it."

The dancer prepping next to Anzu giggled. "Good boyfriend you got there."

And even though they'd never declared anything officially, Anzu didn't correct her.

"Gotta go," she said. She leaned in and kissed Yugi's cheek, and he felt his heart beating throughout his entire body.

He waited backstage through the pounding music and the roaring applause. When he closed his eyes, he could see Anzu as clearly as if he were seated in the front row. Her movements were precise, timed to the music as if it were her heartbeat and timed to her fellow dancers as if they were an extension of her body. Her expression was fixed and intense as the story became her world and she told it with everything she had.

She ducked in here and there to quickly change costumes, and each time, Yugi said, "You're amazing."

She blushed. "You can't even see me out there."

But his declaration didn't change.

At the end of the show, she came back breathless and sweaty and smiling, and all Yugi wanted was to kiss her for real.

But he let her get cleaned up and change back into her street clothes, and he took her to the nearby Iguana. It wasn't until the waiter placed complimentary chips and salsa at their table that Yugi realized he hadn't eaten in at least a day. He'd passed on the in-flight meals since flying made him lose his appetite—and sometimes his stomach.

"I'm glad you came," Anzu said as she swirled the lemon in her drink around with her straw. "I miss you every day."

His heart pounded in his shoes. "Me too."

They got a large lunch and dessert, and they talked and laughed long after the plates were empty. Anzu checked her watch as it grew closer to five, and she finally declared it was time to leave so they could make it to the haunted house. Yugi would have been content to stay in the restaurant with her forever, but he was just as content to go somewhere else. All that mattered was that she was within reach, not seven-thousand miles away with nothing but a phone to connect them.

They caught a cab to downtown Manhattan, and the city grew dark around them as they wound through the streets. Anzu leaned close to the glass, peering out as the city lights came on little by little.

Without looking, she reached out and took his hand. He felt his heartbeat in his fingers.

"It's it beautiful?" she whispered.

He nodded.

They met up with her friends and joined the massive line for the haunted house. Anzu introduced him to the two other couples as they waited—Maggie and Allen, and Victoria and Garrett. Yugi had met Victoria on his previous visit, so it was nice to see at least one familiar face.

"Glad to see Anzu actually brought a date!" Maggie said. "She kept insisting she wouldn't, even with the extra ticket."

Allen wrapped an arm around her and squeezed her pointedly. She frowned. "What?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Allen said.

"Likewise," Yugi said, smiling.

"Your English is as great as Anzu's," Maggie said. "You should come live in New York, too!"

That got her another squeeze, and she let out another, "What?"

Victoria laughed. "Don't mind Maggie. She's honest to a fault."

"I never begrudge a compliment," Yugi said, which was, admittedly, showing off a little. He noticed Anzu raise an eyebrow, and he gave a helpless shrug.

"It's good to see you two together again," Victoria said.

"You picked a great time to come!" Maggie said.

"Do you celebrate Halloween in Japan?" Allen asked.

Everyone was laidback, and the conversation was easy, although Yugi couldn't help but ache a little for the days when he and Anzu were with Bakura, Honda, and Jounouchi instead. Now Bakura was teaching in Europe, and Honda was married to Miho. Jounouchi was still single and carefree in Domino, and he dropped by the game shop often, but even he was about to receive a promotion at work and a busier schedule to go with it.

A costumed worker stalked by with a mechanical, bladed hand, and the two other couples jumped to get pictures with him.

Anzu sidled up next to Yugi and took his hand again. He squeezed her fingers, relishing the closeness of her.

"I'm glad things are going well for you here," he said.

"Me too." She traced her thumb back and forth across his. "I got my dream, and I feel really lucky for that. What about you? Have you decided if you'll take on the game shop or not?"

Maybe he imagined it, but he felt some hesitation in her words. Maybe even some hope.

"I think I have," he said.

Before he could elaborate, her friends crowded back in, showing off selfies with "Freddy." Anzu congratulated them on the pictures, and the conversation started anew, and she released his hand. Despite the fairly warm night, he felt cold.

A few more characters came by, but apparently no one as interesting, and the line crept forward until they were at the doors of the giant manor. Their group handed over six tickets, and the attendant exchanged them for one glow stick, which Garrett took.

"Don't lose yourself in the dark," the attendant purred, leering through bloodied makeup.

Maggie let out an eep and wrapped herself against Allen's side. He put an arm around her, and they followed Victoria and Garrett into the haunted house, Yugi and Anzu taking up the rear.

The single glow stick barely cast any light, and any additional lighting in the room was scarce at best. Someone chuckled from the darkness, raising the hair on Yugi's arms. Something darted past him with a shriek that Maggie and Victoria matched. Anzu pressed herself a bit closer to him in the darkness.

They entered a second room, passing a wall covered in butcher's instruments and blood. A surgeon in a blood-soaked coat pressed close, giggling to himself.

"Fresh meat," he murmured. "Fresh meat. Come, come with me to my table."

He grasped Allen's arm, trying to pull him toward a metal table covered in severed body parts and organs. A decapitated head hung from the ceiling. Maggie refused to let go of Allen's other arm, her eyes wide in the faint green glow of the room.

"You will not come?" The surgeon suddenly burst into a scream, "ATTENDANT!"

A chainsaw roared to life in the darkness behind them, and strobe lights burst through the black. The three girls shrieked, and Yugi's heart nearly abandoned his chest. Against his will, he grabbed Anzu, pulling her close.

"COME TO MY TABLE!" the surgeon bellowed.

The chainsaw and its masked bearer chased them forward into the next room, where they were met with a sudden blast of cold air. Zombies moaned and stumbled in the dim blue light, grasping at the members of the group. One reached for Anzu, and Yugi pulled her even closer. She clutched his waist, giggling nervously. Fog swirled around their feet, obscuring the floor.

Just as an eerie wolf howl filled the air, a zombie burst from the ground beneath them, reaching for their legs, and Maggie launched herself halfway into Allen's arms. He laughed, and she smacked his chest.

They rushed forward, but instead of another open room, the path narrowed into a cramped space barely wide enough for each couple to walk together. The only light came from the red glow stick. Rotting wood pressed close on either side, and the smell of decay was heavy in the air. Something creaked behind the wall on Yugi's side, and he swallowed. Whispers traveled behind the wood, followed by a low moan.

Yugi jumped as something brushed against his hair in the dark. Parts of the ceiling had collapsed, and bits of insulation dangled from the gaps.

Ahead, a young child's voice called quietly for help.

"Yugi, are you—?"

Anzu didn't get a chance to finish her whispered thought because a pale woman burst from the wall on her side, screaming. It was right next to Garrett, and this time, he screamed as loud as the girls. Anzu buried her face in Yugi's chest, gasping for air. Yugi patted her back, trying to catch his own breath as well.

The cramped path opened to a small room of nothing but mirrors.

"So you have come," someone murmured overhead. Everyone's eyes darted to the ceiling but saw only their own dim-lit reflections.

"But will you leave?" The low voice gave way to the chuckle they'd heard in the first room.

The pale woman ran from behind a mirror and grabbed Yugi's arm.

"GET OUT!" she screamed.

The surgeon burst from behind another mirror and strode forward, raising a machete. He swung it directly through the woman's neck, and warm blood splashed across Yugi's face.

Yugi screamed. He practically crushed Anzu against him.

The woman collapsed, and the surgeon cackled, shrill and piercing. He brandished the machete at their group.

"NO ONE EVER LEAVES!" he bellowed.

Yugi gripped Anzu's hand and ran for the exit, completely passing the other two couples in the process. He burst out of the house into the warm night air, and the sounds of the city traffic came flooding back. He panted in air, every bit of him shaking.

"Hope you enjoyed your visit!" a chipper employee said. "Come again!"

Anzu was shaking as well, and it took Yugi several seconds to realize that, unlike him, she was laughing. As soon as he realized, he scowled and released her.

She doubled over, the giggles only rising in volume.

The two other couples exited, grinning as if they'd never been scared through the whole thing.

"I love it!" Maggie said. "Can we go through again?"

"Yugi, you've got some blood." Garrett tapped his cheek.

Yugi scrubbed his arm across his face, only succeeding in smearing the fake blood across both.

"I'm sorry," Anzu gasped out. "I was supposed to warn—ticket—"

"It was on the ticket," Allen clarified. "A warning not to dress nicely because there was a chance for fake bloodstains."

"That's why I wore this," Maggie added helpfully, gesturing at her orange sweater that looked completely normal to Yugi and was in no way a warning that she was prepared to be splattered with very convincing bodily fluids.

"Come on," Anzu said, finally controlling her humor at his expense, "I can get you cleaned up at home."

Yugi mustered enough politeness for a decent goodbye, and then he and Anzu caught a cab back to her apartment in the city. It was only in the cab that he realized he'd never checked into his hotel, which he'd at least had the presence of mind to book. He likely wouldn't make it there until late, so it would have been nice to have it all set up already. There was a lot about this trip he'd just thrown to the wind, but sitting there next to Anzu—her head on his shoulder this time—it was definitely worth it.

They climbed the stairs to her apartment, and Anzu showed him where to put his shoes. The studio space was cramped but well-lit, much like the area backstage that made up Anzu's second home.

"It's nicer than your last one," Yugi commented.

"Isn't it?" Anzu grinned, distributing her purse and keys and phone where they belonged. "And I still got a great deal on it. I'm moving up in the world!"

Yugi wished he could say the same of himself, but his life had been at a standstill from the moment he'd graduated college and realized he didn't know what he wanted next.

He scrubbed his face, neck, and arm clean in the bathroom sink, and Anzu took his shirt, fussing over the stains that she was worried had already set.

"And this one's my favorite," she mourned.

Yugi blushed at that. It was a stupid shirt he'd made in high school, emblazoned with his own name in a sprawling graffiti style.

"It's old," he said as he adjusted the new shirt he'd retrieved from his backpack.

"I know," she said, brushing her fingers over the Y of his name. "I remember when you made it."

She set to work with some stain remover and then filled the kitchen sink to let it soak. As she dried her hands on a towel, he stood at the counter, watching her with a faint smile. Her nut-brown hair gleamed in the warm yellow light, and the curve of her neck was perfect. Everything about her was perfect.

Before he knew it, he was moving. She hadn't even released the towel when he gathered her in his arms and rested his cheek against her soft hair.

She leaned into him and curled her arms around his.

After a moment, she spoke hesitantly.

"Yugi . . . are you taking over the game shop?"

He pressed his lips close to her ear as he whispered, "No."

She drew in a quick breath, held it.

"Why did you really come to New York?"

He smiled and loosened his hold just enough to turn, to catch her ocean eyes and see her face. All he got was a moment to see because that was how fast her arms reached up to fasten themselves behind his neck, how fast her lips rose to meet his. He held her as tightly as he had in the haunted house, afflicted now by a different fear, the same one that had plagued him for months—the fear of a life where she was always out of reach.

When he'd taken a new shirt from his backpack, he'd taken something else with it, and now he reached into his pocket for the small box. As soon as Anzu allowed him to breathe, he kissed her forehead gently and took a step back that lowered him onto one knee.

He opened the box. "Anzu Mazaki—"

"Yes," she said. She was already crying and smiling and reaching for him again.

He laughed, and it was his turn to wrap her in a hug that lifted her from the ground.

"This was _not_ 'just a little visit,'" she said when he put her down.

"Surprise?" He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she shook her head helplessly.

Then he kissed his new fiancée for all he was worth—because he knew exactly what he wanted next.

* * *

 **Note:** I feel like I never write enough oneshots, so I wanted to do a little story for the holiday. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! Drop a review and let me know what you think. Happy Halloween!


End file.
